Moonlit Jazz

“For Once in My Life” by Harry Connick Jr.

See, I’m totally diggin’ Harry Connick Jr. right now.

A week ago this moment, we were on the road to Burbank. I think we were almost there by now. I remember wondering what the day would bring. Would we get to check in right away? Would our gas last to the hotel? What would Charles be like? What kind of crowd would be at the convention? What would I spend the most on?

just before the grapevine

IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE RIGHT NOW…

And this is what I’m missing today…

Mark Mulder

How long had I been looking forward to this year’s A’s Fan Fest? Probably since the end of the last season. 😛 Right now, in a parallel universe, the selfish version of me is enjoying the Oakland Coliseum, scheming to take pictures with Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. She’s planning on name dropping on Zito in hopes of getting a non-blank reaction from him. She might even buy tickets for the Fuji Film Photo Day.

I hope she’s having fun…

FOR US TODAY INSTEAD

Halsted N. Gray

I’m going to bring my camera. JUST FOR THE OUTSIDE STUFF! Looks like a neat building. Plus you should always bring a camera when you go to San Francisco. 😉

“My Prayer” by Harry Connick Jr.

So no A’s Fan Fest for me this year. Oh well, it’s not like I don’t have all baseball season to try for some time with my fellas.

Alas.

I’m enjoying Harry Connick Jr.’s latest CD, ONLY YOU. I love the songs! 😀 I like standards from the 50s and 60s. Sometimes the music just lulls me.

I so dig my new layout! 😀 It shall definitely stay up until baseball season, if not longer. It’s so lovely!

Baseball… I want it now!!! 😛

“You Don’t Know Me” by Harry Connick Jr

I feel so LOVED! This AWESOME layout was created by ::celeste:: and I LOVE IT! It features my new favorite guy, Charles Mesure. I just wanted to keep admiring his loveliness and what better way than with my blog? Of course, I still love Mr. Orlando Bloom and if you miss that layout, you can still see it in the archives. It should still be there for January. 😉 I plan on using that layout for my Pirates screencaps. I’ll get to that soon, I promise. 😀

Time for bed, otherwise I’d write more! 😀

Why did I feel sicker at work than I did at home during my sick days? I think it’s the freakin’ air in the office. Grrr!

EIGHT EIGHT SEVEN SEVEN

He asked, “Hey, who orginally sings that song, ‘Tenderly.'”

Of course she replies with the nerdiest answer of, “Nat King Cole and Rosemary Clooney sing a version of ‘Tenderly.'” He comments about George Clooney and she corrects him, “Rosemary was his aunt.”

He then goes on to tell her that a group called Soulstice does a mix version of “Tenderly.” He offers to let her listen to it next time he’s at work.

Groovay!

CHARLES MESURE

It really doesn’t help that my friend Lisa thinks that Charles is definitely a hottie. We keep exchanging emails about him (and other stuff) and we both agree that he was worth the convention. Now I need to find all the stuff I have on him and watch it all over. Like those Xena eps. And if I can just find that VHS tape of City Life, I’d be in heaven. 😀 I know I have it somewhere!

I wonder if he goes online at all. Has he seen Kim’s page on him? If I do a page on him, will he see it?

Wait, do I really want to do another fansite? I haven’t even officially opened my Mark Mulder site! Ye gods…

I WANT TO WRITE AN ESSAY ON…

“Things A Bride Should Not Do: Tips for the Bride Preparing for Her Big Day”

I’m afraid to start writing it here because the bride in question might actually wander to this weblog and perhaps be offended by my tongue-in-cheek advice. Oh well, here it goes.

TIP: Do not forget to include your bridal registry information in the invitations.
If you would like gifts on your wedding day, please be sure to include information on your registry. Otherwise be prepared for cheap vanilla candles from well wishers who had no idea what to get you and decided to get you what they wouldn’t mind having instead.

TIP: Do not forget to include a postage stamp on the response envelope.
I checked a couple of bridal etiquette sites for that one. All of them mentioned postage stamps on the response envelopes. It wasn’t just me. If you would like to know how many guests will and will not be attending your nuptials, it is strongly suggested that you include the postage stamp on the response envelope. Can I say it too many times?

TIP: Do not forget to include the start time of the ceremony.
If you would like your guests to attend the ceremony, the time of the ceremony would be most helpful. Otherwise you and your spouse will be standing in an empty church because no one knew what time the ceremony began.

I can think of more. For now, I must sleep…

“All the Way” by Linda Eder

I keep thinking about the convention. I keep looking for more convention reports and definitely more pictures. I don’t think I realized how much I missed the whole thing– the excitement of telling your adventures, hearing about other people’s experiences, the awesome guests, the feeling of belonging, the PICTURES! 😀

I know that I said that I felt as though I didn’t quite belong, but in reality, I was part of the experience. I suppose the absence of my friends (save one) gave me a different perspective. Perhaps that’s what I was missing, my friends.

Charles Mesure is still on my mind. I can’t help it! I so wish that I had taken MORE pictures of him. I’m finding very few of him from other convention goers, although I am finding a few very good ones. 😉 (See my Burbank 2004 page for more links, if you’re interested.) And I’m remembering more from the convention. So here goes some rambling…

Playing Michael… Charles basically wore a white gown in his first appearance as Michael on the Hercules episode “Revelations.” He played him with a stateliness and grace more easily achieved than in his later appearances. They figured that when Michael walks the earth, the wings disappear. Cut to his appearance on Xena. He said the wings weighed a lot, pulling him back. It was more difficult to appear graceful. Then there was the harness for the flying scenes. So he was leaned back because of the wings and pushed forward on the bottom because of the harness. Made for an interesting visual on stage. 😉

Another person asked about the changes Michael went through. On Hercules he started out seemingly as a bad guy and in the end was revealed as a good one. On Xena, he went from saving Gabrielle in one episode, then coming back in another in an attempt to kill Xena’s daughter. Charles couldn’t reconcile the two, so he said that he went in, said his lines, and hoped that the viewers could figure out the middle that brought Michael to such a character change.

Kevin Smith… Kevin came up during a question of which character Charles enjoyed playing. Or was it the processes in which he played his characters? I’m not sure. Charles started out by saying that he enjoyed all his characters for various reasons, then gave us an example with the character of Darnelle from “Dirty Half Dozen.” (I think that’s right.) He wanted to go in there playing this warrior type in leather like Kevin played Ares. Charles decided that he would play Kevin playing Ares. All tough, sexy, leathered. Kevin was also featured in the episode, so Charles and Smithy (as he called him) tried to “outbutch” (his word, not mine!) each other. Deep voice, the swagger. It was fun to watch. Charles remembers Kevin with such a fondess that was utterly apparent. He mentioned how he got to kiss Kevin in his first acting gig (on City Life, Charles’ first show). They were good friends, he said. And it showed.

Coming to the States?… Charles was born in England (12 August 1970, according to Kim’s fansite on Charles), moved to Australia when he was five, and has lived in New Zealand for the past eight years. He said that he doesn’t know where home is. He came to the realization that he can leave New Zealand. He has no wife, no family, nothing really tying him to New Zealand, so he believes that the US could be his next stop. (And don’t we all hope it is! Move to LA, Charles! Do another California convention!)

LA, a great city… Charles had been in LA (his first visit to the city, but not his first visit to the States) for two days and he was experiencing an oddly nice version of the city. Everyone had been friendly and great to him. My friend, a resident of LA, and I just looked at each other and wondered where Charles was hanging out! LOL! He did comment on the driving. He found driving more harrowing than the interviews. He just hoped to get to his appointments in one piece!

Whew, I remembered a lot, eh? I wish I had taken some movie clips of Charles. As it is, I was lucky to get the one of Lucy and Renee on stage together. Nope, no one gets to see it. Yet. It’s not really that impressive. LOL!

I’m toying with the thought of doing a Charles Mesure site. That’s how big an impression he made on me. Curses!

I should add a supplemental to my convention report, eh? Charles stuff. Yeah…

Oh, and I didn’t got to work today. Just felt too CRAPPY! Gosh, it’s nice to bum around at home and take naps. 😀

“Heart of Mine” by Norah Jones

I didn’t go to work yesterday. I suck. But the weekend just drained me and made me weary. Too much excitement, I think.

But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t constructive! 😉

Burbank Xena Convention 2004 – You will find photos and a report. The report is just slightly edited from the one that I did here in the weblog. I’m hoping that none of the diehard, subtext Xenites find offense from some of my comments. 😛 My pictures suck, but they are all that I have. Well, the Husband took pictures too. We just have to wait to get them developed and of course his shots are of the ladies– Victoria Pratt and Gina Torres.

George Strait at the Save Mart Center – More pictures and another report. Once again, the report comes from what was written here, so you don’t have to read it if you read it here. 😉 The pictures are much nicer than the ones from the convention! I loved our seats for the George Strait concert! My pictures turned out rather nice. I took a bunch of George. Surprise! 😀

THE SUPER BOWL, THE HALF TIME SHOW

I watched the first half of the game and found it to be quite a bore. The half time show was INTERESTING. Personally, I thought it was intentional, the whole Justin ripping off a piece of Janet’s clothing. If it wasn’t, why the heck was she wearing a nipple decoration?

And now, my opinion of the whole thing. Don’t read it this if you were outraged by the incident. 😉

:: RANT ON ::

I think the uproar over a piece of human anatomy is so STUPID! It’s not as if she bared her ass or very private parts. It’s not as if Justin Timberlake whipped out his penis. It’s a BREAST, people. It’s there, it got exposed. I didn’t know that a breast was such an evil thing. Oh my god, they showed a breast on tv! During the Super Bowl of all things! It’s such a family gathering kind of event, isn’t it? Football? Men throwing the ball. Men catching the ball. Men SMASHING INTO EACH OTHER WITH ALL THE FORCE OF THEIR HUGE, MUSCLED BODIES! Wait, isn’t that kinda violent? But it’s okay, right, because they wear helmets and pads. They don’t really get hurt. It’s not really VIOLENT.

But oh my god, Justin Timberlake ripped Janet Jackson’s clothes and her breast popped out. Call for a federal investigation! Let’s see how much of the taxpayer’s money we can throw down the drain because people are outraged over a flopping boob! God, it was like they had SEX on stage!!!

Was it tasteful? Probably not. Was it appropriate? Probably not. Are you talking about it? Hell yeah! But folks, we need to get over this. There are more freakin’ important things to worry about than a breast on tv.

And what the hell does anyone expect when the halftime show is produced by MTV?

:: RANT OFF ::

I don’t expect people to agree with me on the above, it’s just my opinion. Take it as you will.

Here’s a good read on the whole thing. From the Miami Herald. Oh, and another from the LA Times.

Oh, and I didn’t really care about the game, but I was disappointed that the Patiots won. Good for them, but sad for the Panthers. But like I said, I didn’t really care anyway.

Is it freakin’ baseball season yet?

“That’s All” by Michael Bublé

Yes, I am back from Burbank! It was a three and a half hour drive from Salida to Burbank, six hours of Xena conventioning, a night spent in room 508 of the Burbank Airport Hilton, then four hours from Burbank to Salida. Quick weekend, eh? LOL!

I wrote the following while I watched the Super Bowl…

XENA CONVENTION 2004 – BURBANK

It’s been three years since my last convention. I keep remembering the previous cons, big and small. I wondered what this convention would hold for me.

Small. Catering to a very specific audience. Subdued. Almost a little sad for a fan like me.

THE GUESTS

Victoria Pratt – I saw only a little bit of Vicky’s stage time. She looked great, of course. Later on in the day (I think after her first autograph session), we passed her as we walked out of the hotel restaurant. She’s shorter than me and as pretty as she is on TV.

Gina Torres – Gina is a beautiful lady. She was funny and gracious during her time on stage. My most favorite part of her stage time was when she mentioned Kevin Smith. It was one of those teary eyed moments for me. She was glad to mention him and I was glad too. My second favorite Gina moment was her song at the end. She sang an oldie called “When Did You Leave Heaven?”

Renee O’Connor – I must confess, my friend and I did not watch Renee’s one woman theatrical performance. Instead, we sat and chatted while most of the con goers filled the auditorium. We did get up when the auditorium roared. Lucy Lawless was on stage in a playful parody of a Xena fan covention goer. She was so funny! She was in disguise wearing a interesting wig, a Rosie O’Donnell denim jacket, a black hip pack.

Bobby Hosea and Charles Mesure – The only men featured on Saturday and they appeared together. Was it because this was their first convention? Hmmm.

The moment the two of them took the stage, my friend and I were very taken by Charles Mesure. Then he spoke and we were absolutely struck.

Bobby Hosea – a down to earth man with a good sense of humor. My favorite Bobby moment was when he declared that Marcus was Xena’s one true love. “I don’t care what any of the other guys say.” It was priceless! Someone asked for a personal tidbit from each and his was that he’s been married for almost 24 years (is that right?)! He met his wife in the 7th grade and just knew that she was the one for him. He knew, “and this was before sex education,” that she was going to have his children. It was soo sweet!

Charles Mesure – Oh how HUNKY. He is exactly why I have gone to conventions in the past. And then he was so much more. Handsome, stylish, beautiful voice, gracious. He was my most favorite part of the convention. I especially loved the way he mentioned Kevin. Someone asked him about his roles (Darnelle, I think) and he told us about how he played one of his roles as Kevin. He said that he and “Smithy” tried to “outbutch” each other in that particular episode (“The Dirty Half Dozen”). I liked how he didn’t have to say he missed Kevin, you could just hear it in his voice. He also talked about playing Michael and the changes the character went through. On the personal side, Charles is very single and contemplating making a move to the States. He was born in England, grew up in Australia, and has lived the last eight years in New Zealand.

THE END OF MY XENA CONVENTION NIGHT

After Charles and Bobby left the stage, I had one more thing to do — take a picture with Charles Mesure. I was so glad that I had purchased the photo op ticket. I stood in a very small line before Bobby even had his turn. It seemed like a long time, but it was only a few minutes.

I was the first one to take a picture with Charles. I walked into the room and he was sitting in one chair. He stretched his left hand out and I took it and we squeezed hands in greeting. I think I also said hello. I took my seat in the chair beside him and we smiled for the camera. I thanked him and it was done.

Nothing puts a smile on my face like taking a picture with a handsome fellow. LOL! This one is with Charles Mesure

AND THE REST OF IT…

Early during the convention, I got to sit down for a short interview for the next set of DVD extras. I hope that some of my comments make it onto the DVDs. That would be so WILD!

My purchases included: a sleepshirt from the Xena cruise (Greg is on the shirt), the photo op ticket, and three photos (two of Ares and Xena and one of Virgil and Xena).

Although I had lovely moments at this convention, I felt a bit out of place among the convention crowd. The only thing I had in common with most of them was an affection for the show. But I never bought into the whole subtext. It’s not part of what I perceive about the show. Yet the fans at the convention have obviously embraced the unintentional concept. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it alienates a fan segment just as willing to spend money on the fandom. Creation especially caters to those fans who want only to focus on the subtext. Most of the guests are women and the themes are very subtext.

I guess my point is this: WHERE ARE THE MEN?! If the guestlist was more balanced, then perhaps more people would attend. And if more people attend, perhaps more money would flow. Besides, I want my freakin’ eye candy!

Most of my pictures turned out CRAPPY. I was too lazy to get out of my seat to get closer to the stage. Oh well! The best picture is the one above with Charles. I should have tried to take another one with him. Ah well, such is me and my bashfulness at the wrong times!

In the end, I had a good time. I missed my former crew. I was glad to catch up with my good friend. I missed Kevin Smith. I think I fell in love with Charles Mesure. I could not recapture the magic of former coventions. Yet I was glad to be there.

And here are the lyrics to the song Gina Torres sang. The song makes me think of Kevin…

When did you leave heaven?
How could they let you go?
How’s ev’rything in Heaven?
I’d like to know,
Why did you trade Heaven?
For all these earthly things,
Where did you hide your Halo?
Where did you lose your wings?
Have they missed you?
Can you get back in?
If I kissed you,
Would it be a sin?
I am only human
But you are so divine,
When did you leave Heaven?
Angel mine…
By Guy Lombardo